Gallup Poll: Record Disapproval Ratings for Obama on Economy

More than half of Americans said they had virtually no confidence in President Barack Obama's ability to improve the nation's sagging economy — the highest rate during his years in the White House, according to a new Gallup poll.

Those survey respondents said they had little or no confidence in Obama making effective economic decisions, the survey found. That was up 15 percentage points over last year.

On the flip side, only 42 percent who said they believed that he had such economic skills, Gallup found. Even that figure was a new low for Obama — and matches his current overall approval rating.

Generally, the generally has hovered in the 50-to-57 percent approval range on the economy issue since his first year in the White House.

That year, 71 percent of Americans told Gallup that they had confidence in Obama's ability to improve the economy.

The Washington-based organization surveyed 1,026 adults April 3-6. The results have a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.

But disapproval ratings were just as high for congressional Republicans, 71 percent, and Democrats, 61 percent, Gallup found.

And 43 percent expressed a similar no confidence sentiment for Janet Yellen, the new chairwoman of the Federal Reserve, the survey found.

Business leaders and state governors, however, garnered stronger responses in the Gallup poll — with 52 percent expressing confidences in corporate executives and 51 percent in top state leaders.

"It has been six months since the federal government shutdown, and its aftermath still creates tremors throughout the collective American psyche," Gallup said in its analysis, referring to the 16-day partial closing that cost American taxpayers $1.4 billion.

"Though confidence in the economy itself has recovered from the shutdown, confidence in the elected officials who strongly influence the economy seems to not have recovered," Gallup said.